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CEA SERIN “The World Outside”
CEA SERIN “The World Outside”
By Colonel Angus
The good Doctor (Dr. Abner Mality of course) always throws some great new music my way to review. Many of the bands, I have not heard of or just a passing mention in my usual internet trolling so I love getting introduced to new bands. CEA SERIN is the newest band that I’m getting immersed into and this latest disk “The World Outside” is a great introduction to what they are all about.
Hailing from Louisiana, CEA SERIN is the creation of Jay Lamm who handles almost all of the instruments and vocals aside from drums and percussions which are performed by his bandmate Rory Faciane. “The World Outside” is their third full length and it seems they release one album per decade. I have always been to take quality over quantity and judging by this latest disk, they certainly deliver on the quality part. The record consists of just six compositions but still manages to crack the seventy minute mark so you are getting plenty of music.
The first things that hits you once “Where None Shall Follow” starts is the cinematic nature of the music. It almost washes over you and fills the room with so much sound that it is hard not to focus on aural assault. Make no mistake, the music does transform into hard driving prog metal but it is the attention to detail that really makes the songs come alive. There are little flourishes here and there, whether they are guitars or keyboards, that keep each track interesting without losing any momentum that the groove provides.
“The Rose on the Ruin” starts off with some keyboards but that quickly gets overpowered by some unrelenting prog metal riffing that will satisfy any headbanger. That riffing gives way to some awesome melodic parts that contain death metal vocals. I’m not normally into that style of singing but when mixed with clean vocals, they bring a new texture to the music that I think sets CEA SERIN apart from other prog metal outfits. Similarly, “Until the Dark Responds” follows in the same pattern as its predecessor. Keyboard intro morphs into a riff heavy piece that twists and turns throughout its twelve and half minutes taking us on an auditory ride.
At this point we are half way through the record and not a note out of place. Lamm and Faciane continue with another melodic prog metal tune called “All the Light That Shines”. There is something about this track that even though it is thirteen and half minutes long, it goes by too fast. While the first three songs hit their mark, this track took things to another level entirely. “The Wretched and the Brave” has the distinction of being the only tune that doesn’t start off with keyboards and pretty much gets into it with some really cool melodic and proggy riffing. There are definitely some DREAM THEATER influences in there but the death metal vocals keep it far away from being a copy.
Closing off the record is another prog metal workout titled “Wisdom of the Aging Fathers: Three Regards to Reason”; a long title for the shortest song on “The World Outside”. Clocking in at just over ten minutes, the track stays true to the album’s core sound, blending inventive riffing and soloing with dynamic tempo shifts. I have listened to this album over a dozen times and with each spin, I hear something new within the songs. That, my metal friends, is a hallmark of a record that will keep your attention for years to come. I’m not sure what their first two records sound like but “The World Outside” is my new prog metal favorite. With 2025 coming to a close, I’m delighted to say that it will be a very hard year for me to pick my top 10 of 2025 but this disk will be definitely be on the there.
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